Dog Park OVERexuberance

[Lynda Kamrath]

My 5-mo-old ALD puppy is having problems at the dog park.  He LOVES to go to the dog park, but he gets super worked up and chases, chases, chases until his heart is leaping out of his chest.  He runs with the greyhounds and actually keeps up with them.  I can't get him to settle down.  The last two times we went to the dog park, I kept him on leash, but he was jumping and going wild even on leash.  I thought being on leash at the dog park might get him to settle down, but it doesn't seem to help.  When we leave the dog park, he walks nicely through the park and back to the car.  My DH says to stop taking him to the dog park and just go to the beach which is less stimulating.  He is always on leash because he does not obey commands yet and will not come when I call him.  Suggestions???

[Adina P]

I'm not sure I understand. Are you worried that he's over-exerting himself and it's unhealthy for him to run so much? Or are you wanting him to settle down for some other reason? Maybe just spend less time at the dog park...15 min instead of 30, for example. I think part of the point of the dog park is so dogs CAN go wild and crazy and if that's not appropriate for your pup then maybe it's not the place for him right now until he's had more obedience and is under better voice control.

For what it's worth, Boca has NEVER been to the dog park and has never been off leash except in the yard and she's fine and happy. So I, personally, don't think being on leash is a bad thing. Once I started Boca's training, we simply used ALL our outings for training so we progressed quickly to great on leash control because obedience is all we did out of the house. My suggestion, if he does not yet obey commands is to simply make obedience the goal of going out with puppy and keep outings focused on training and before you know it he will earn more and more freedom.

[Lynda Kamrath]

Right on! Yes, I want him to be in control and obey commands, like "come". He is pretty good in other locations away from the dog park and he has not been off leash away from home except for in the dog park. Maybe that is the clue for me. Dog park is equated with freedom. I also do not think being on leash is a bad thing, and I must have control over him. Until he obeys commands, I think we will stay away from the dog park. Then gradually introduce him again when he sits, stays, and comes. Yes, I know we need training classes but things are so busy right now, I think I will wait until after the holidays. Thanks for your input.

[Melissa & Porter]

Maybe try some attention-reward training outside the park (sit-treat, look at me-treat) and when you go in, on leash, same thing. Exit if he fails to pay attention. Repeat until you can get him to listen in the park on a leash. Go when fewer dogs are there so they don't get in on your training and treats. He is five months, so hyper-excited is normal--but I agree that you need him to listen to you and not get in that zone.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I think as long as he is getting along with the other dogs, you should just let him run. Maybe he has a lot of energy and this is the perfect outlet for him. Fudge and Vern love to run too, but they attract a lot of attention and Fudge is less receptive to this then she used to be, so we stopped going. Our dog park does not allow leashed dogs and the attraction for me to the dog park was the fact that the dogs could run off leash in a contained area. I always kept a good treat in my pocket for when we were leaving and made them sit at the gate in order to get the treat. In puppy class, the trainer taught us the command "Touch" and you held a very good treat in your two fingers for them to see and when they came to you, you lowered your hand and let them touch and eat the treat. This has been a very valuable command to me and they stop everything when I yell "Touch". The trick is to always offer the very best treat you have.

Fudge runs and runs too at the dog park and will not stop on her own. I just limited the time at the dog park to about 20-30 minutes and shorter, if her behavior got out of hand. I miss it though, because it wore her out for the rest of the day :)

[Natasha]

Couple things...

1) I agree with Adina's suggestions

2) It can be dangerous for a dog to be on leash at a dog park. It can also lead to aggression in some dogs. The reason - the dog is being encountered by other dogs that are off leash and, thus, have more freedom to (in your dog's mind) attack him while he has fewer resources available to him (flee, etc.) because he is restrained. That is the reason why some dog parks do not allow dogs to be on leash.

3) LOVE the touch command to teach "come" but please have a trainer work with you. "Come" and another command such as "down" or "stop" are critical safety commands and they are your two most important commands and your dog absolutely must obey. I know the holidays are busy, but your puppy is in his prime learning period and he's looking for your direction, rules, and boundaries. You will spend far more time if you don't do it now. Even if you just go to PetSmart for their once per week classes and do two or three 5 minute training sessions per day at home, that will go SO FAR for you. Please - don't put this off.

4) Are you walking your puppy everyday? I used to take Rouser to the dog park and everything was fine (a few bumps and bruises here and there). He lost interest around 1.5 years old, though. Regardless, we have always walked Rouser every morning and regularly walk him in the afternoon as well. It's great for their mental and physical well-being. Your puppy may be a little more exuberiant at the park if he's not getting enough energy out first thing in the morning. Walks are great bonding opportunities and allow you both to reinforce your training and he gets to use his nose which will make him SO happy.

Finally, I am not really sure I understand the problem at the dog park. Running is the goal there. Is he jumping, going after other dogs, etc. on top of that? Is he getting beaten up by the other dogs (them trying to teach him manners)? If he's just running and running, that should be fine so long as you regulate his time there.

[Lynda Kamrath]

If running is the goal at the dog park, he definitely is meeting the goal. He runs and runs and runs. He does not get scolded by the other dogs and he gets along well with everyone, but it is so hard to get him to stop. You are right that it is hard to enforce the leash on him when the other dogs are free. He also gets plenty of exercise and goes to the beach (on leash) a couple of times a week. I think I will just stop taking them to the dog park until he has completed basic training and will come to me on command. He is really a very sweet dog and gets lots of time outside. We have a quarter of an acre fenced for a back yard and dog run. We also walk them here at home regularly. I have found that walking both of them is too hard for me and they need time alone, but the dog left at home cries for his friend when we take one out my himself. We will work it out.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I find that hard too, to leave one home while I take the other one. I feel like I am cheating on somebody :) I am determined, though, to start doing exactly that next week to work on individual training. Good luck.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I also was thinking about this post today while walking my dogs. Another thing I like to do is take them to a fenced in tennis court and let them run off leash. We play ball and they chase the ball and each other and leave happy and tired. It is also a good place to work on training.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

We take Rooney to our dog park every day at the same time to meet up with the "small" dog group. Rooney gets wild, running - jumping - play fighting with other dogs. This is the point of it. Great excerise, socalization (dogs will set their own rules) and no leash - freedom. I know that he loves it and it has made him a less fearful puppy.

[Michael Gurley]

My Sunny loves the dog park, but we did have to wait until she was done with obedience training. Luckily, I got her trained before she was old enough to go to our local park (the rules state the dog must have rabies vaccine, and that is at 4 months) and now she is very good with the "come" command because she gets lots of praise and I throw a ball everytime she comes to me. She is not motivated by treats, so that never worked for us.